“The philosophy asserts that virtue (meaning, chiefly, the four cardinal virtues of self-control, courage, justice, and wisdom) is happiness, and it is our perception of things—rather than the things themselves—that cause most of our trouble. Stoicism teaches that we can’t rely on anything outside of what Epictetus called our ‘reasoned choice’- our ability to use our reason to choose how we categorize, respond and reorient ourselves to external events.”

Holiday encapsulates the Stoics’ view of virtue while emphasizing that prohairesis, or “reasoned choice” is the most crucial tenet of Stoic philosophy. This quotation connects the embodiment of virtue to happiness and well-being, setting the stage for Holiday to develop this theme throughout his work.

“The single most important practice in Stoic philosophy is differentiating between what we can change and what we can’t. What we have influence over and what we do not.”

Holiday explains that Stoicism teaches people to consider what is truly within their circle of control. This quotation also underlines the importance of prohairesis, or reasoned choice, since it is dependent on people having a realistic understanding of what they can and cannot change in their lives.

“The little compulsions and drives we have not only chip away at our sovereignty, they cloud our clarity. We think we’re in control, but are we really? As one addict put it, addiction is when ‘we’ve lost the freedom to abstain.’ Let us reclaim that freedom.”

Stoicism centers its followers on identifying inner desires and patterns that inhibit their ability to live a disciplined and virtuous life. Holiday endorses this approach by encouraging readers to reflect on their daily habits or “compulsions” to ensure that their reasoning mind, rather than rote habits, has “sovereignty” over their actions.